


Safe Harbour

by moonblossom



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Cuddles, Love, M/M, Nightmares, PTSD, Thunder and Lightning, h/c
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-03 07:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1736981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblossom/pseuds/moonblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These sorts of nights were always the worst, the blinding lighnting and crashing thunder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safe Harbour

Zane blinked, eyes gummy and bleary with sleep. He wasn't sure what had woken him; the rolling thunder echoing through the room or Ty's rhythmic rocking in the bed. Inevitably, the former had set off the latter, and it didn't really matter which had jerked him awake. What mattered now was Ty.

"Ty?" Zane's voice was soft, hesitant.

The only reply was pained, incoherent mumbling. He was still sound asleep. There was another flash of lightning that painted the room white, another reverberating clap of thunder, and Ty's body tensed, back arching up off the mattress, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His eyes were fluttering rapidly, irises visible through the fragile skin of his eyelids even in the dim room. Zane sat up, sighing heavily.

These sorts of nights were always the worst, the blinding lightning and crashing thunder. A perfect storm to trigger Ty's PTSD in a way not much else could -- Zane assumed the flashes and bangs set off something in Ty's subconscious, hitting far too close to home. If he could safely wake Ty, hold him through the storm, it would pass over easily. But waking him from this state was always a risky proposition. At best, it would earn Zane a black eye as Ty's reflexes woke before the rest of him did. At worst, it would drive Ty into a spiral of anger and shame, leaving him remote and sullen for hours or even days. Zane didn't particularly care about being hit in the face. He did, however, care about upsetting the man tangled in the sheets next to him, the man who meant everything to him.

Gently, he reached out and placed one hand flat on Ty's chest, fingers splayed across his sternum. No pressure, just contact. Ty shuddered, moaning quietly as another rolling burst of thunder exploded over them, but Zane could feel the muscles under his palm relaxing slowly. As the seconds between thunderclaps extended to minutes, Ty's breathing steadied and the knot under Zane's heart started to unravel.

The storm tapered off and Ty's nightmare seemed like it was receding, but Zane stayed alert, sitting up and resting against the headboard. He stroked Ty's chest lightly, only pulling his hand away when he felt Ty jerk into an upright position. He was awake, but his eyes were dull and disoriented. He wasn't here; he was still thousands of miles away. Zane heard him murmur something questioning, managed to make out the name O'Flaherty amidst the mumbling.

"Hey, baby. It's me, it's Zane." He kept his voice soft and quiet as Ty blinked to full awareness, the gold flecks in his eyes warming in the darkness.

"Fuck, sorry." Ty rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. "Storm? How long?"

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay. About twenty minutes." Zane murmured, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Ty's temple, making sure not to crowd him. "You were asking for Nick. Need me to call him?"

Ty snorted. "It's three in the morning, and you're offering to call the guy I once kissed behind your back?"

Huffing softly, Zane buried his face in Ty's hair and slowly wrapped his arms around Ty's shoulders. They were still tense, but nowhere near as tight as earlier. "I'm offering to call your best friend, you jerk. The one who knows what's going on in that head of yours. And besides, I have it on good authority that he kissed you, not the other way around. Who could blame him?"

Ty relaxed further, burrowing into the protection of Zane's arms and nuzzling his face into Zane's throat. His jaw was rough with faint stubble, and it tickled. Zane did his best not to giggle.

"I'm pretty sure even I don't know what's going on in this head of mine, but thank you for offering." Ty mumbled as he continued nuzzling. Zane could feel the clammy dampness of Ty's forehead against his shoulder. Gently, Zane coaxed the two of them down onto the bed, smiling to himself when Ty threw one muscled thigh over Zane's hip. He would take whatever version of Ty the universe threw at him after a nightmare like that, but this sleepy, pliant, comfort-seeking Ty was his favourite.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" He asked gently, stroking one hand up and down Ty's spine.

Ty grunted, a huff of air exhaled against Zane's skin. "Not really. I'd rather just forget it entirely."

Zane nodded, his cheek rubbing the top of Ty's head. "Go back to sleep, baby. If there's more thunder, I'll be here."

"Thank you. Love you." Ty's voice was whisper-quiet, already soft around the edges as his body slackened further, falling quickly back into a deep slumber. Zane sighed, his heart tightening at the pure, nearly-painful level of trust Ty was demonstrating. His own body relaxed, Ty safe and protected in his arms. He kissed Ty's forehead softly before allowing himself to nod off. 

Neither of them woke again until the sun came up.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had the whole "PTSD/thunderstorm/nightmares" thing floating around in my head for a couple of days but wasn't planning to work on it until later. While I was sitting at my desk (which happens to be next to a huge set of glass patio doors) we were hit with a massive, violent thunderstorm complete with hail and funnel clouds, and this just snuck out.


End file.
